Training advice? Back on the bike after a long time.

[Morgan Fletcher]

I am 34. I used to race road, mountain and track ten years ago. I was a strong local rider. Raced
cat 3 on the road and track, raced expert on my mountain bike. Probably would have done better on
the track as I'm built for it and good at time trials and sprints, but I only raced track my last
season. Had almost enough points for cat 2 on the road when I had a bad break, (femur) lost
motivation and stopped racing. Raced four seasons. I'm 6'2", have "heavy bones". Weighed 179lbs at
my lightest after doing five weeks of 450-mile weeks, usually raced at 185lbs. Won Patterson Pass
Road Race as a cat 4 (broke away on the climb) so I can climb OK for a big guy when fit.

I haven't raced in ten years, and I've been off the bike for the most part for six years, been busy
being a father in that time frame.

Now I'm riding again. I was 275lbs last summer, I'm 240lbs now, been riding for six months. For the
last two or three months I've been doing one big "fat burner" ride of five-plus hours Sundays, and
using my commute to get three 38-mile round trips (about three hours total riding time over hilly
terrain) during the week. Sometimes I extend one of my commutes to 50-60 miles mid-week. I'm also
trying to get in a shorter Saturday ride, but that's my wife's day to ride. By fat-burner I mean
long, steady distance. I don't wear a heart rate monitor, but it's a decent tempo that my faster
friends are comfortable with, a mix of big and small-chainring work over hilly terrain. Lately the
rides have been in the 80-100 mile range. I use powerbars, cytomax and lots of hydration to get as
many miles in as possible. I am feeling good after my rides and I still see progress in terms of
speed, recovery and endurance each week. I don't feel overtrained, but the weight is coming off
slowly. My weight has held steady at around 245lbs for a while, I guess while I was gaining muscle
and losing fat. Now it's started to drop again.

I'm trying to leave each meal a little hungry, cut out fats and eat more vegetables and less red
meat, drinking a lot more water too. Modifying my diet has been much harder than getting the miles.
I don't do any gym work, just ride.

I did my first race in ten years this past weekend, a team (2) time trial on an out-and-back course,
with a friend who's stronger than me as a partner. Did OK, but not great. (caught our minute men and
their minute men, didn't get caught but managed just mid-field in the masters 70+ category) I could
tell from that one race just how out of shape I still am. All my riding has been fairly
low-intensity lately. This time trial was the first high-intensity riding I've done since I got back
on the bike.

I know that if I could get another 30-40lbs off I'd feel ready to do some masters racing. My goal is
just to get fit enough to do local training rides, enjoy hammering on the bike, hurt my friends and
be competitive in road races at some level.

Read some racing training books (Matheny, Doughty, Boryzewicz, etc.) a long time ago, know some of
the basics of training already. Don't belong to a club or a team, just do local rides and ride with
friends. I am guessing that it might take all summer to lose the weight and get near fit. My wife
and I both work and we have two little kids, so riding time has to fit into our schedules.

Sorry for the long post. Do you have training advice for me?

Morgan

 

[Kurgan Gringion]

"Morgan Fletcher" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I am 34. I used to race road, mountain and track ten years ago. I was a

<snip>

> Now I'm riding again. I was 275lbs last summer, I'm 240lbs now, been
riding
> for six months. For the last two or three months I've been doing one big "fat burner" ride

<snip>

> I know that if I could get another 30-40lbs off I'd feel ready to do some masters racing.

<snip><end>

Dude, you're skinny.

You're ready for the masters right now.

Steve Taylor

 

[Bikerecker]

morganhaha wrote:
>Do you have training advice for me?

I, like you, am mid 30's, 6'3", and "big boned". I quit racing 7 years ago, after 13 years, gained
40 pounds, became a fat slob. My doctor talked to my wife about my cholesterol and blood pressure,
and she became part of my motivation to get back in shape and use the goal structure of racing to
stay fit. I have since upgraded twice, to Cat 1, and my weight stays under 200, dropping to 180 in
mid season. I also rock climb 5.10. The rock climbing gives me a different set of goals that force
me to balance my fitness, and also allows more time with my family, who are all into climbing, too.
I am all about goals, and bike racing, with all of its different levels of quantification, lends
itself to personalities like mine. Free advice: Well, as you know, your first priority is the
weight. You won't be competitive in the Masters til you get back to near where you were as a 3. You
have to realize that it is possible. A lot of guys I know hit their mid-thirties and just give up on
trying to maintain any semblance of their youthful fitness. There is no real reason to do so,
besides motivation. If you are motivated, and barring any major circumstance upset, you will do it.
The formula is so simple: eat less, burn more, lose weight. Besides the LSD rides, you need to do
some intensity. The books you are reading (besides Eddy B's, which is pretty anachronistic) have
lots of good workouts that will help you incorporate intensity into your weekly schedules. Weight
lifting also helps. I can't really lose my winter fat unless I mix endurance sports with resistance
training. I suspect you are the same. Since I hate gyms, I do my workouts at home. A few dumbbells,
a pull up bar, and a place to do push ups and crunches are all you need. Plus, more motivation. Your
weekends need to have two good workouts. Figure out a way to work one into Saturdays. Even if it's a
god awful trainer ride, you have to do something fairly long, and fairly intense. Maybe a tandem
might help, it did with us. Hill repeats with my 130 # wife on the back take on a totally new
difficulty level... Another tip: Caloric intake needs to end after 6 in the evening; it's
superfluous, anyway. Takes some willpower, AKA, motivation, to skip or cut back on big dinners,
healthful or not. Hope this helps. Stay core and you will make it. Greg Miller Just got off the
trainer at 10:30

 

[Cathy Boland]

"Morgan Fletcher" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> terms of speed, recovery and endurance each week. I don't feel
overtrained,
> but the weight is coming off slowly. My weight has held steady at around 245lbs for a while, I
> guess while I was gaining muscle and losing fat. Now it's started to drop again.
>

Be patient. You didn't gain 100 lbs in 6 months so you can't expect to lose it that quickly either.
At least not lose it and keep it off anyway.

> category) I could tell from that one race just how out of shape I still am. All my riding has been
> fairly low-intensity lately. This time trial
was
> the first high-intensity riding I've done since I got back on the bike.
>

You just told yourself what to do. You need to put intensity back into your training regimen. Sounds
like you have enough base miles back to start doing training races, intervals, and yes, racing as
well. The weight will start to drop off a little more quickly and you will be surprised how quickly
your racing fitness comes back.

Good luck!

Cathy

 

[Gerard Lanois]

Morgan Fletcher <[email protected]> writes:

> I am 34. I used to race road, mountain and track ten years ago.

Henry's remarks aside, you've still got alot of weight to lose.

I was in a similar situation - age 35, took 5-6 years off, gained weight. I was in decent aerobic
shape due to commuting 100-125 miles a week, but needed to lose weight. I'm 6'2, and weighed
225-ish; the pounds just wouldn't seem to come off.

I continued commuting and riding recreationally, but the main thing I changed was my diet, and lost
over 30 lbs. I weigh less now than I did when I was racing 8 years ago. The weight is staying off. I
had taken 6 weeks off the bike due to an injury last September and only gained about 7-8 pounds.

In addition to the other advice in this thread I'll add the following:

1. Count calories. I used my wife's old Weight Watchers books and points system. I only used it to
the extent that I found a set of foods which I liked eating which remained within my points
range. I did not credit any points for exercising, and I did not bank or loan points between
days. I just stuck with it. It was actually very easy once my eyes were opened to reading food
labels - the number of calories per serving size. After 3-4 weeks I abandoned the points entirely
and just relied on calories and serving sizes directly.

2. The low calorie diet and trying to perform at any level above just commuting was painful. Since
the pounds were coming off, I just stuck with what I was doing and 6 weeks later I had lost 25
pounds. Lost another 10 over the next 4 weeks. I increased my performance goals and adjusted my
diet accordingly during the last 4 week period.

3. What you eat is important, not just eating less. Refined flour and sugar is bad. Pasta is bad;
good for performance, but bad if you are trying to lose weight. Watch out for sugary drinks -
juices are no good - read the labels.

4. Fat isn't necessarily bad. Deprive your body from it and your body may crave it, which may in
turn drive your appetite and you might end up overeating. In measured doses (ie, stick to a
serving size which doesn't blow your calorie budget) you can use it to *control* your appetite
because it satisfies the genetic programming which is making you want to eat it ("mmmmm - fat
tastes GOOD").

5. If you feel that your energy level is low, it might be a sign that you need to sleep, not eat.

6. Not eating after a certain point in the day (say 6pm) helps alot - it prevents your system from
absorbing calories which you won't be using in the next 12+ hours (which over time can cause your
body to store the excess in the form of fat).

7. Regarding weight training, if you want to lose weight you could likely end up gaining muscle
mass. I would stay away from free weights and machines and focus on what I call a "prisoner's
workout" - pushups, crunches, pullups, and other more calisthenic exercises. This will burn
calories and give you muscle tone without adding muscle bulk. Also, it removes your excuse for
not doing it - "uh, I couldn't lift today because the gym closed before I could get there". You
can drop and give 20 anytime the mood strikes you (during commercials, waiting for your laundry
to finish, whatever).

If you weighed 185 before, you can weigh 185 again. The problem is that if you want to lose weight,
you need to run a calorie deficit. There is no way around that.

-Gerard rec.bicycles.fat-acceptance